The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate for 2027, Atiku Abubakar, has hailed an Appeal Court judgement nullifying court order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister the ADC and four other parties.

The appellate court, in a lead ruling delivered by Justice Abba Mohammed on Tuesday, nullified the trial court order to deregister the parties over failure to properly evaluate evidence before it.

Mr Abubakar, in a statement issued by his media office, said the ruling reinforced public confidence in the judiciary and strengthened constitutional democracy.

“As the nation advances towards the 2027 general elections, political contests must be decided by the votes of Nigerians—not by contrived lawsuits seeking to achieve in the courtroom what cannot be won at the ballot box.

“Having accepted INEC’s evidence, the lower court had no legal basis to manufacture additional conditions in order to arrive at what the Court of Appeal rightly described as a perverse decision,” the politician stated.

According to the politician, the strength of a democracy lies not in the exclusion of political opponents but in allowing the people to freely determine their leaders through the ballot.

Mr Abubakar further described the judgement as a victory for constitutional democracy and the rule of law, adding that the judiciary must not be used to shrink the country’s democratic space.

“The judiciary must never be transformed into a battlefield for eliminating political competitors or shrinking the democratic space,” the former vice president stated.